Beware: There's lions in the camp

IF YOU haven’t heard the now familiar bellowing of ‘lions in the camp’, then you haven’t witnessed Anthony Yarde in action.

Predatory, concise, a student of coach Tunde Ajayi’s ‘cerebral’ school of boxing, east London born Yarde is a name making waves for himself in the light heavyweight division.

The 26-year-old’s latest win over Dariusz Sek at the London O2 Arena earlier this month was another feather in his cap and took his record to fought 16, won 16.

Beating a man that had previously never been stopped or put on the canvas, Yarde told the Voice of Sport that having sacrificed over the last few weeks it was time to eat a burger.

“Every fight is just as important as another, it’s about building experiences,” Yarde explained.

Addressing the naysayers, he added: “Everyone has their opinions but opinions don’t make my life change.

FIGHT
“This was my first southpaw opponent, he’s never been stopped before, I stopped him, he’s never been put on the floor before and I put him on the floor, that’s a box ticked.

“We’ve tried to make fights against certain people who have turned me down and made fights with other people but I am not focusing on the negative stuff, I’m sticking to the positive and what’s positive right now is that I’m winning, getting better with each fight.”

In high spirits following his win, Yarde sent a special shout out to those who have supported him on his journey, especially those who sauntered down to the O2 Arena.

He said: “Lions in the camp! A lot of people don’t know what it means but everybody out there that has supported me; it’s lions in the camp.

“You ever seen a lion and you see steak on the floor, it’s lions in the camp. You see belts; it’s lions in the camp. You see a burger; it’s lions in the camp. You see the cheque; it’s lions in the camp. You see Tunde; it’s lions in the camp.

LIONS
“It’s lions in the camp!”

Relaxed about how he moves forward and in no rush for the show fights, Yarde sees his progression as being the ultimate thing right now. He said: “In terms of the fights coming up next, I’ve said this before, I don’ care who I’m fighting. We’ve been offered the Kovalev fight, offered the Beterbiev fight and my team have decided that as a whole, it’s not that time yet.

‘I’m patient and I am confident in myself so when the time does come, it’s turn up, show up and blow up.”